Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, and Brazil to the south. At just under 165,000 square kilometers, it is the smallest sovereign state in South America.
The early history of Suriname dates from 3000 BCE when Native Americans first inhabited the area. The Dutch acquired Suriname from the English, and European settlement in any numbers dates from the 17th century, when it was a plantation colony utilizing slavery for sugar cultivation. With abolition in the late 19th century, planters sought labor from China, Madeira, India, and Indonesia, which was also colonized by the Dutch. Dutch is Suriname's official language. Owing to its diverse population, it has also developed a creole language, Sranan Tongo.
Desiré Delano "Dési" Bouterse is a Surinamese military officer, politician, convicted murderer and drug trafficker who served as President of Suriname from 2010 to 2020. From 1980 to 1987, he was Suriname's de facto leader after conducting a military coup and establishing a period of military rule. In 1987, Bouterse founded the National Democratic Party (NDP). On 25 May 2010, Bouterse's political alliance, the Megacombinatie, which included the NDP, won the parliamentary elections, and on 19 July 2010, Bouterse was elected as President of Suriname with 36 of 50 parliament votes. He was inaugurated on 12 August 2010.
Vooruit is a Flemish social democratic political party in Belgium. The party was known as the Flemish Socialist Party until 21 March 2021, when its current name was adopted.
The National Democratic Party is a political party in Suriname. It was founded on 4 July 1987 by Surinamese leader Dési Bouterse, and was one of the first parties in the country to have a stable base of support across different ethnic groups. In the 2015 general election the party scored 45.56% of the vote and 26 of 51 seats in parliament.
The Democratic Alternative '91 is a liberal political party in Suriname.
Henck Alphonsus Eugène Arron was the first Prime Minister of Suriname after it gained independence in 1975. A member of the National Party of Suriname, he served from 24 December 1973 with the transition government, to 25 February 1980. He was overthrown in a coup d'état by the military, led by Dési Bouterse. Released in 1981 after charges of corruption were dropped, he returned to banking, his previous career. In 1987, Arron was elected as Vice President of Suriname and served until another coup in 1990 overthrew the government.
The New Front for Democracy and Development was a social-democratic political alliance in Suriname. At the legislative elections, the alliance won 41.2% of the popular votes and 23 out of 51 seats in the National Assembly. And at the elections of 2010 the party won 14 out of the 51 seats. The alliance is formed by:
The National Party of Suriname is a social democratic political party in Suriname, founded in 1946, and since June 2012 led by Gregory Rusland. For a long time it was the largest ruling party in the country, and it has been in government for a total of over 40 years. Of the 16 general elections held in Suriname, the party or a coalition it was a leading part of finished in first place 11 times. The party tends to be more popular among Afro-Surinamese and multiracial people.
The Progressive Reform Party, formerly known as the United Hindustani Party and the Vatan Hitkari Party, is a political party in Suriname. It was originally founded in January 1949 as a merger of three parties to represent the Indo-Surinamese community. The party occupies a position straddling the political centre and centre-left, advocating for a combination of social-democratic and social-liberal policies under the Third Way philosophy. During the party's history it frequently allied itself with the National Party of Suriname (NPS) that historically represented the Afro-Surinamese community.
The Basic Party for Renewal and Democracy was a political party in Suriname.
Brotherhood and Unity in Politics is a political party in Suriname founded on 29 April 1973.
The National Assembly is the Parliament, representing the legislative branch of government in Suriname. It is a unicameral legislature. The assembly has been situated in the former park house at the Independence Square in Paramaribo, after a fire destroyed the old building of representation on 1 August 1996. A reconstruction of the old building was completed in 2022.
Jagernath Lachmon, also Jaggernath Lachmon, was a Surinamese politician. He was one of the founders of the Progressive Reform Party (VHP), an Indo-Surinamese party founded in 1947 of which he served as President until his death.
General elections were held in Suriname on 25 May 2010.
The 1980 Surinamese coup d'état, usually referred to as the Sergeants' Coup, was a military coup in Suriname which occurred on 25 February 1980, when a group of 16 sergeants of the Surinamese Armed Forces (SKM) led by Dési Bouterse overthrew the government of Prime Minister Henck Arron with a violent coup d'état. This marked the beginning of the military dictatorship that dominated the country from 1980 until 1991. The dictatorship featured the presence of an evening curfew, the lack of freedom of press, a ban on political parties, a restriction on the freedom of assembly, a high level of government corruption and the summary executions of political opponents.
Chandrikapersad "Chan" Santokhi is a Surinamese politician and former police officer who is the 9th president of Suriname, since 2020. After winning the 2020 elections, Santokhi was the sole nominee for president of Suriname. On 13 July, Santokhi was elected president by acclamation in an uncontested election. He was inaugurated on 16 July.
General elections were held in Suriname on 25 May 2015. The National Democratic Party won an absolute majority on its own for the first time.
Eduard Johan "Eddy" Bruma was a Surinamese politician, lawyer and writer.
General elections were held in Suriname on 25 May 2020. The elections occurred concurrently with an economic crisis in Suriname, as well as the COVID-19 crisis.
